In July, I traveled with G Adventures to Peru. I did their Explore Machu Picchu itinerary, which took us from Lima through to Cusco and the Sacred Valley for a week. Because of their G for Good partnership with Planeterra, where they partner with local communities through tourism, we did get to have some really unique/special experiences that most tour groups do not have. The first was a visit to Parque de la Papa, Potato Park, a community that exists at 13,000ft above sea level. In this elevation, where we have snow and ice, they have a village that grows over 1600 types of potatoes alone! They also grow tons of different types of corn, grains, and quinoa. We were able to learn all about how they do this and rely on the seasons (Andean Calendar) and different elevations, dating back to Incan times. They still have one of the most important potato banks in the world.
At the Potato Park, the women are also constantly weaving. We got a private demonstration on how they get their yarn from llamas and alpacas, how they dye it with natural things like limes and plants, and how they weave it into patterns. This was definitely a trip highlight that only G Adventure groups get to experience. After this we had lunch at another G project called Parwa. They started this restaurant in the local community, trained everyone that works there, and now it serves not only G groups but anyone in the local area with farm to table traditional Peruvian meals. Lots of quinoa and potatoes!
We also visited the Salt Flats – this was really cool to see! It’s still in use today and each pool (2500 of them) is owned by a separate family. It was a little touristy and because of tourists you are no longer allowed to walk through the pools, but you can still get pretty close. With G, we stopped at one of the little vendors and they let us taste different salts, as well as chocolate and corn that’s made with the salts. Definitely buy your salty gifts here!
All in all though, my favorite experience was definitely hiking the 1 Day Inca Trail. It is about $500 for the permit, and to hike with a G guide. You need a guide and a permit to hike to Machu Picchu. Hikers and non-hikers alike take the train from Ollantaytambo, and the hikers have literally 3 minutes to hop off the train at marker 104km. We hopped out and were in the middle of the woods to begin our trek! There are passport controlled entrances to the trail so everyone must have their actual passport to hike. This process was quick and much less crowded than I expected. It was pretty much our group and 1 other G group on the trail. We are responsible for carrying enough water, layers, camera, and anything else you might need. They gave us a boxed lunch that we also had to fit in our backpacks for the hike. There is no water on the trail so you definitely need to bring enough for the whole day. Once we started hiking, we spread out and hardly encountered any other people. This is definitely a tough hike but very rewarding.
We had a varied group, people of all ages, with different abilities, and everyone was able to do it at their own pace. There are some edges that people with a fear of heights might have issue with, and some STEEP climbs. Along the way we encountered waterfalls, Incan ruins, and lots and lots of stairs. The whole hike took about 5-6 hours with multiple breaks. It could be done much quicker than this, but we stopped for a while at the waterfall, and for lunch. Towards the end, I had this idea that we would be met with this incredible view of Machu Picchu once we reached the Sun Gate. Some people did cry tears of joy, but I think that was more from accomplishing the challenging hike. The view is expansive and rewarding but there are MUCH better views if you continue down towards Machu Picchu. We hung out at the Sun Gate because we thought this was the end, not knowing we still had about a 45-min walk down to the buses and the best photos ops. Once we got closer, we had the best views with almost no crowds. You can’t go into the actual ruins but you can get to the viewing spots. We toured Machu Picchu the following morning, but it was 100x more crowded and the people who didn’t hike only had that experience.
G Adventures also offers the 4-Day Trek along the Inca Trail which involves camping. For a group of 16, you hike with 24 porters who carry everything and sprint ahead to set up camp and cook. I would be happy to discuss this or my hike in more detail with you!
Side note: I absolutely loved Cusco. I wish we had more time there, but we only had a couple hours to walk around. The San Blas neighborhood was my favorite, with really cute cafes (mostly organic), shops, and markets. In Cusco, we visited the Cusco Planetarium - this was so cool! It was freezing up there, but we were able to see the Southern sky from major telescopes. They pointed out things like the Southern Cross, different constellations, Jupiter’s stripes and moons, etc. We also saw a shooting star when we were all looking up. Very cool way to end the trip of a lifetime!